The whole point of this blog is to bring some coherence into my ramblings. Mostly poetry, yes. But not quite :)
It always helps to have somebody criticize what I've written. At least THEN you know they've read it ....
You'll find pretty much constant whining here. No, I've still not QUITE grown out of it. Do we ever ?
Never ending grumbles... here we come!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Lessons learned today

Aoa

Today was a very learning day. And it was a good thing (Alhamdulillah) that I ignored the whispering of the nafs ... ''Oh it's too hot outside! How will you drive this far!" ..and the like, and went to the Astaghfaar (asking forgiveness from Allah) program arranged at the Institute where I had taken the Quran course for 3 months.

It was actually REALLY hot outside, and my car ride was miserable because of it. But anyway, the trip was well worth it because the speakers were great, and the dua was passionate. One of the speakers was a lady who had been to the camps set up for the flood victims. She narrated pretty horrible stories of the poor people, and what they had to go through - and even now, their aazmaish (trial) hasn't abated; they're still in pretty much troubled area - where fighting for food is common... so much so that even when this lady's team distributed prayer mats once, there were huge fights over it. And the painful irony is, that out of 100 people, only 2 or 3 would know how to pray!
Imagine!

The second speaker talked about Surah Anfaal - and I'm going to quote here, because I think it's really important to keep these things in mind.

24. O you who believe! Answer Allah (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he () calls you to that which will give you life, and know that Allah comes in between a person and his heart (i.e. He prevents an evil person to decide anything). And verily to Him you shall (all) be gathered.

25. And fear the Fitnah (affliction and trial, etc.) which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong (but it may afflict all the good and the bad people), and know that Allah is Severe in punishment.

26. And remember when you were few and were reckoned weak in the land, and were afraid that men might kidnap you, but He provided a safe place for you, strengthened you with His Help, and provided you with good things so that you might be grateful.

27. O you who believe! Betray not Allah and His Messenger, nor betray knowingly your Amanat (things entrusted to you, and all the duties which Allah has ordained for you).

The italicized portion is the point the lady talked about. She said that starting from 1947, the journey of Pakistan was a very humble one in the beginning. There were no huge buildings, instead, there were desks underneath shades of trees, and there, the official government work went on. She said that she is an eye witness to this spectacle. Later on, Allah Gave us a LOT. What we have right now, is eons more than what we started out with. But what did we do with this wealth? Instead of taking it like a trial, and being cautious about it, we totally forgot basic human rights, and set on a path to easy money, greed, over-fulfilness, etc. And this is the result! That we're asking ourselves: Why Muslims? Why did those poor people get washed away in the flood?
Well, when the azaab (calamity) strikes, it strikes everybody. Not just the perpetrators.

It was very awakening :(. We were told that the flood victims now need rashan (food items) as well now, as the initial stock is drying up! May Allah SWT Help them, and Help us do osmething for them. I hope I can volunteer - there are quite many camps in Karachi now, and this is much more accessible than, say, Muzaffargarh...

So summing up: I learned that:

1. The flood victims need our help and support even more now, that the winter is approaching.
2. Just blogging about the issue isn't enough. Some real action is needed.
3. The poor people don't even know how to pray, some basic deen education is also needed. And is being imparted...
4. We really need to pray for Dr Aafia Siddiqui. Her sentencing is tomorrow. And even though there are all the odds pointing towards a life imprisonment, I'm still hoping and praying for a miracle to take place, and her to come back home to her kids. Ameeeeeeeeen.
5. If we don't wake up now, we're going to be surrounded by even more aazmaaishes - as if enough isn't happening now. We were shaken in 2005.. we didn't wake up. We were shaken with milder earthquake... Balochistan. We didn't wake up. And now the floods and extreme injustice especially in terms of bloodshed... is taking place. What ELSE can go wrong here, I shudder to think about.

Yeah, this is very true. I guess individually, what we CAN do, is cut down on our luxuries.. :S... like, save money this way, and help the poor people out. I think this will be a drop in the ocean, but its surely going to help if lots of people start doing this!

About Me

I love reading. Arguing about something worthwhile is my favorite pastime. Limericks bring joy to me. I smile at the elderly - and I love playing with kids.
Life is strange. I'd like to decipher it ..and soon. Since it's way too short too!
Religion is my passion..Quran and Arabic are two of the main things I intend to understand soon.. Insha Allah.
I would like to know what quantum computing is ...
Coherent ? Bet not :P